Survival
by Fireheart1207
Summary: Firestar and Brackenfur are sent on a journey together by fate. The goal? Survive to tell about it. My first story from a three year old idea.
1. The Battle

**No copyright infringement intended towards **_**Warriors**_**, the Erin Hunter crew, or HarperCollins. I own nothing but the storyline in this writing.**

**This is set a week or so after the end of the second series.**

"Firestar, how do we know it was them?" hissed a voice. A streak of brilliant orange flashed between two fronds on the edge of the new forest, followed by several more pelts. "The evidence is abundant enough, Brambleclaw," a gruff mew replied. "We can't tolerate ShadowClan trying to steal prey. You should know that." Firestar perched on the top of a small gradient overlooking their enemy's camp. Fifteen other cats stood behind him, of varying color. A quick flick of the tail and the ThunderClan battle patrol rushed down the hill and tore into their rival's camp at full speed. Living nearest to the wall, ShadowClan warriors streamed out of the den and instantly engaged in battle. Blackstar swaggered out for underneath the leader's rock and began bounding toward a stalwart Firestar. The two launched at each other and met in midair, in vicious battle. The brutality of both sides was on full display, locked in a duel of strength and superiority. "ThunderClan, pair up!" came a yowl from Firestar. As Clanmates joined, a hunting patrol from ShadowClan returned, and with it brought several formidable, and more importantly fresh, warriors. Taking advantage of the newfound energy, ShadowClan swiftly overwhelmed the ThunderClan patrol and drove them back. "ThunderClan, retreat!" Firestar's yowl split the air. Beaten warriors limped out. Brackenfur was met and given a hefty blow by Blackstar as he was the last to leave, knocking him cold. Turning to face Firestar, Blackstar gave an icy stare. The ThunderClan leader returned the favor, and lifted Brackenfur up onto his back. Following the scent trail of his Clan, the leader forged on through exhaustion, despite the briefness of the encounter. Firestar soon had no choice, and gave in to the darkness right on his border.

**First ever chapter guys, feel free to leave feedback. I wanted to keep the battle fast, and I most likely will do a drawn out one later.**


	2. The Beginning

**Chapter two has arrived. Thanks to Silvershine for some constructive criticism and to all you Warriors fans for loving the franchise as much as I do!**

Brackenfur woke with a splitting headache, nearly unable to breathe. As he opened his eyes, he saw mere blackness and instantly panicked, thinking he'd been rendered blind. Regaining his typical level-headedness Brackenfur felt a tuft of fur up against his tail. He nearly choked as he opened his mouth to get more air flow as a beastly stench and earthen smells flooded in. Observing an echoing of his own breath, he concluded that he was underground in something's den, and there was a good chance it was not friendly. Brackenfur once again allowed his mouth to drop and tried to process his captor. Quickly he was swamped by badger scent, and a faint trace of his leader's, leading him to a realization: whatever was next to him was either Firestar or a killer monstrosity that he'd have to battle alone underground. Electing to remain frozen in place until it moved, Brackenfur tensed for a long vigil.

Firestar woke in a field he didn't recognize. His attention immediately snapped to the fact his warrior was not with him, and stood up in an effort to find Brackenfur's scent trail. Searching the air, Firestar found that his friend's smell was intertwined with one that gave him shivers: a badger's. Concern washed over the leader and he began bounding down the path laid by Brackenfur. Noting a lack of fear scent, Firestar figured that the younger cat had remained unconscious for the duration of his transportation, flinching at the image of one of his best warriors hanging helpless from the slavering jaws of a monster. Fortunately for both of them, the badger had left the leader near its den and Firestar easily located it and dove in.

Brackenfur clenched harder as he heard something moving down the tunnel toward him. Crashing ever nearer, the warrior unsheathed his claws and stood perfectly still. He hoped that he'd be able to protect Firestar long enough to wear down the beast and drive it away. Suddenly, the fur next to him fanned and began to move. _Thank StarClan. With both of us, we might be able to take this thing down._ The assailant rounded the corner, and Brackenfur was an instant from leaping when he recognized Firestar's dim eyes in the dark. _What? Then that means…_ Pieces formed together in Brackenfur's head as he stared into the ginger leader's eyes. "_RUN!"_ was all Brackenfur could say while the badger rose and swiped at the two cats with a deadly claw. They clambered up Firestar's scent line and fired out onto the surface with a furious badger in tow. "We're going to have to outrun it," Brackenfur mustered. Drawing all the energy the pair could, they shot down a small heather path and burst into open moorland. Crashing through the brush was an ever-tiring killer, hot on the heels of Firestar and Brackenfur. After reaching the edge of the moor, the two deemed the monster lost and slowed to a halt, collapsing in unison. Regaining some breath, Firestar crawled under a small berry bush and Brackenfur followed suit, both curling up and trying to rest after the exhaustion of running and the now day-old battle. The pair of orange pelts seemed almost as fragile as they were, as two of the mightiest warriors the Clans have ever known huddled in unexplored territory, beaten and drained.

**Might've been another short one, but I will do this story in segments, e.g. battle, badger, etc.**

**and won't make Brackenfur so useless, as he is my favorite.**


	3. Dire Circumstances

**What happens when a writer runs out of ideas to put at the beginning of the chapter? Well, something like this. **

**Dedicated to Dewey Readmore Books of Spencer, Iowa. That cat changed a town.**

A downpour had begun when Firestar woke. Sludge rolled around their temporary resting place, making walking significantly more energy consuming, and Firestar didn't have any to expend. Brackenfur stirred and rose to the sight, visibly unhappy with what he saw. "We should get to higher ground," Brackenfur advised, casting a sideways glance toward the unkempt leader. He took note of Firestar's shape: beaten, soaked, matted and ruffled. A Twolegplace showed through the mist out in the distance, with howling and baying streaming from it. Firestar gritted his teeth at the sound, and told Brackenfur, "It's our only option. Trust me, I don't like the idea any more than you do." Rain stinging his eyes and mud washing over his paws Brackenfur grudgingly conceded, "Fine. But those dogs are _not _reassuring." The bedraggled duo trudged slowly through a field of heather in an eerie silence and eventually agreed to split up to hunt.

After a mere few moments, Firestar unscrambled the flood of scents that hit him and found a vole's. Dropping into a hunter's crouch, the leader spied the confused little animal and began to creep up to it. A simple pounce later and Firestar stood victoriously with a stoutly built creature hanging from his jaws. Suddenly, the dogs off in the distance grew slightly louder. The orange cat paid no heed, and returned to the place that he had split with his warrior. Separating half of the vole from itself and pushing it away for his friend, Firestar began to consume his reward.

Brackenfur began to trot away from the spot the two had parted, hauling himself up an incline. What he saw when he turned horrified him: the dogs were loose, and there were several. Even worse, they were headed straight for the reuniting area where he knew Firestar would be soon, if he'd not already returned. Brackenfur tore down the slope and raced for the clearing in an energy he could only muster via panic. He began to slow when the canines strangely veered away from Firestar and ran off in a new direction. Removed from a state of distress, Brackenfur could barely even move. Pushing through the exhaustion, he reached the safe haven of his clearing and noticed his leader crouched over a piece of fresh-kill. The younger warrior forced himself onward to the other orange cat. A thumping noise began to prevail halfway to his destination. A fern rustled, and a sight neither expected to see emerged: another, bigger pack of hounds that tore through the underbrush to Firestar. The leader could only brace as he was bludgeoned and thrown into the air. A second canine stomped on his skull and the older cat went limp, strewn about himself and being rolled and kicked constantly. The sickening sight induced a savage rage into Brackenfur, and he brashly dove onto the back of a smaller dog and began to claw the creature in every way he could. Leaping down and swiping its nose, the confused and injured dog fled in terror, collapsing at the edge of the break. The end of the running pack relieved and horrified Brackenfur: the danger was done but Firestar needed tending badly, and Brackenfur knew only what limited information he got from his sister. Coming to the side of the cat who lay on his flank, Brackenfur found he didn't need to be a medicine cat to understand his leader's situation was desperate.

Firestar opened his eyes to find himself at Fourtrees. _How is this possible? Why am I here?! _Firestar's concern rose until a familiar sweet scent washed over him. _Spottedleaf. _His long lost love had come to console the befuddled leader. "Spottedleaf, why… why am I here? The forest is torn and gone, and I've yet to see other StarClan cats. What's going on?!" She replied coolly "Your life hangs in the balance. I'm afraid only your friend can help you keep this life, but you've not lost it yet. Come with me." The leader did so almost without volition, and followed his old love and prophet of sorts to a pool of gleaming water that shone an image of his Clanmates, huddled around under Highledge. "Listen," Spottedleaf instructed, and he heard Graystripe, Sandstorm, Leafpool and Brambleclaw in deep discussion. "He has been gone for two days. He can't be much longer, for the Clan's sake," mentioned a thoughtful Brambleclaw. "I have experience in Firestar going off on crazy quests and having to lead the Clan. He'll come back, it's just a matter of how soon," remarked Graystripe. "Very well, Graystripe. I of course trust your judgment and experience, so you can lead in his absence. Let me assemble the Clan." Firestar watched Brambleclaw bound up the stone ledges to the highest. "Let all cats old enough to catch prey gather here." Firestar amusedly noted Brambleclaw said the summons incorrectly. "In the unfortunate absence of our great leader Firestar and revered senior warrior Brackenfur, I hereby must commission someone to take his place. Due to his deep friendship with Firestar and experience in leading, I will appoint Graystripe to do so. Thank you." Spottedleaf pulled away, saying "Your Clan is in good paws, Firestar. We will guide your best friend as we do to you." Firestar replied heartily "I trust Graystripe more than anyone in the world. He's done this before."

**So, friends, I happen to be very tired of typing and I have hit a good spot to end, I leave you by saying thank you for the support and I hope you have enjoyed to some degree to this point.**


	4. Aftermath

**Something… I'm writing a story, not an intro**

A now oriented Firestar elected to lie down and simply wait to be returned, as Spottedleaf's ever-sweet scent surrounded him as she lay next to him. The two rolled onto their flanks and wrapped around each other, sharing a rare moment of bliss and tranquility. Firestar's shoulder scar evaporated and his pelt became kept and groomed, radiant as the flame he was named for. Energy crashed through him and the leader leapt to his paws and bounded about the hill, with Spottedleaf soon joining him. After prancing along his hill, the elder cat raced down it and jumped gracefully to the top of a low-hanging oak branch, Spottedleaf never far behind. He scurried up to the next thick limb and clawed upward till he ran out of tree. StarClan's endless youth swept through the aged leader and he leapt between trees and branches without tiring. As the moon got halfway behind the horizon, Firestar ended his romp and bounded up the moor to a tall rock. Finding a comfortable place to settle, Spottedleaf joined him and they found themselves leaning together with tails intertwined, watching the moon lazily drift. Firestar couldn't be happier, peace reigned the scene.

Chaos descended on the earthly realm that was now solely Brackenfur's. The fog rolled in heavier, too thick to see beyond a tail-length. The rain intensified to typhoon levels, and the howling wind alone stung Brackenfur's eyes enough. To make matters worse, the great savior of ThunderClan was lying on the ground hanging on to his life by a thread. The senior warrior assessed his leader: broken ribs, at least a concussion, a shattered paw, and extensive shoulder and ankle damage. No one could help Firestar in this case, as Brackenfur simply resigned to eating the half of a vole left for him. A rustling in the bushes snapped his attention back to sentry duty, and he tensed to pounce. Through the thick air, Brackenfur watched a sight he never expected appear: _Sandstorm?! Why is she here? How'd she find us, did she bring someone else?_ Thoughts ran through Brackenfur's mind too fast for him to keep up. Bounding over with what energy he could muster, he came to Sandstorm's side. "Sandstorm! Thank StarClan! Firestar is hurt badly, he needs help." Strangely, the pale warrior did not acknowledge him. "Hello? Sandstorm? Now's not the time for games, Firestar is barely alive!" The queen simply walked into the mist toward their leader, showing no sign of understanding him. Brackenfur lost sight of her, and he ran after the warrior. He saw Firestar's unconscious form, but no sign of the queen. Brackenfur called until he was hoarse, but his hopes of salvation were slowly dashed. Just as he gave up, another cat strolled from the bushes. Brackenfur's heart exploded with joy at the sight of Sorreltail, his mate, with Brambleclaw closely following. Graystripe entered the bedraggled cat's view. "Over here! Are you the rescue?" Brackenfur had to screech against the angry wind. Again, no response from the other warriors. The dull, unblinking eyes of them all unnerved Brackenfur until Graystripe dissolved as if he was dust. The orange cat shrieked in surprise and horror. Brambleclaw soon followed. "Sorreltail! No, don't go! _Please_!" His mate's unfocused gaze tore him apart inside, as she too faded away. Firestar remained where he was, to Brackenfur's hollow relief. Watching nearly the only thing keeping him on this quest dissolve into nothing took a terrible toll on the mighty senior warrior. What if it was symbolic? Was it an omen? A message, perhaps? Or simply his mind playing tricks? Exhaustion began to overcome the cat and only heightened his near-mad thoughts. It was as if his whole life was slipping away from him. His two deputies, both great friends, the love of his life, and the most powerful and symbolic queen that ThunderClan had all faded from his grasp at such a desperate time. What did it mean? A black cat with a white streak and green eyes stepped into view from seemingly nowhere. Brackenfur was familiar with the cat, but only distantly. His fatigue added to the fuzziness of his memories. The cat's eyes widened with concern when he saw the two and visibly recognized Brackenfur and a shell of Firestar. _He's only in your mind! Don't even try._ Brackenfur instead rolled onto the ground and faded from consciousness. Near sleep, the black cat disturbed him and placed poppy seeds silently into his paw and proceeded out of the clearing in an urgent manner. Brackenfur was soon in very deep sleep.

Firestar's paradise trip showed no signs of slowing, as the pair now rose from sleep and pounced off their perch to run through the moor that no longer really existed. Spottedleaf froze completely without warning while they frolicked around in the fronds and turned to the elderly leader. "You're friend has succeeded. This must end, though neither of us may wish it." Suddenly Firestar felt as if he was being swept away from the moor, and everything was replaced by black. A horrible pain racked the torn warrior as he opened his eyes to the physical world. A pair of green eyes and black fur appeared over him, as the cat they belonged to showed deep concern and relief. Firestar managed to look past this new cat to see a limp but relatively unharmed Brackenfur. Bringing his gaze back to the new intruder, all Firestar could do was stare down the loner in front of him. Something was off: he knew this cat, but the haze of pain glazed over any thought process he might have. The elder warrior knew he'd likely not even recognize Graystripe or Sandstorm in his current state, and he understood that a head trauma had occurred more from pain than anything else. Firestar attempted to rise, to the apparent dismay of the darker warrior, and haul himself up to clear out the cobwebs and regain control of the situation. It took all of his strength and energy, but his tries were doomed to fail due to the crippling blows he'd sustained. The black cat had white markings that further prompted Firestar to search his memory, but continued to draw blanks. This stranger fervently began to check the leader's injuries and run out of the clearing that had become a makeshift camp. The leader crawled and clawed his way to a fern that covered a berry bush, and curled up. Clearly, rest was all he could do.

Brackenfur woke to find himself in a ray of sunlight in perfect, dry weather. The ground had dried, the storm was long gone, and the black and white loner shuffled tiredly in an attempt to gather den materials. With the younger warrior full of energy and well-rested, albeit no less hurt, recognition dawned and his heart exploded with joy as he realized who the cat who'd saved them both was. "Ravenpaw!" The old friend jumped as he heard the hail. "Brackenfur, nice to see you're awake and alive," he commented grimly. "Can't exactly say the same for Firestar, though." The loner flicked his tail to a bush where streaks of orange prevailed. "You look so tired. Always the selfless hero, I suppose. Do you want to take a rest if I take over?" The loner gratefully mewed, "Yes, thank you. But I'm no hero, I just help my friends. Ravenpaw's exhaustion was prominent. "How did you end up here with us?" queried Brackenfur. "It's a long story, and I'm too tired to tell you now." The loner then trudged under Firestar's bush and proceeded to curl into a ball and instantly begin sleeping. Brackenfur figured to start on making three nests and began his project.

**Well, that's the end of the chapter. Feel free to give me feedback, and thanks for sitting through this all the way. Hopefully I've entertained some of you for a while.**


	5. Falling

**Shoutouts go to Sunnypelt, who has greatly helped in inspiring me to continue.**

The storm had passed by the time Brackenfur had completed his weaving. He started to the bush where his two survival partners lay. Ravenpaw twitched slightly and rubbed his nose, but other than that the two were silent and motionless. This fact didn't bode well for Firestar's health, but that was plain to see anyway, as he lay in an awkward position, and a bit disturbingly, a rib protruded above his pelt. Brackenfur investigated his leader's injuries more thoroughly and found that not only were two ankles shattered, but the joints were damaged near irreparably. His shoulder blade rolled in a way that it shouldn't have, but nothing very serious occurred there. The head trauma was horrifyingly severe, so much so that it was shocking the elderly cat was still alive… if he was. Brackenfur suddenly was hit by a wave of nausea, just looking at the broken leader and the stench emanating from him. Brackenfur staggered out of under the bush and out into fresh air, noticing a rustling off in the rim of the clearing. Finally at full health, Brackenfur knew that something was amiss and his mind was clear, and as such he darted to the edge of the clearing as well. Stalking through the underbrush was his specialty, being a ThunderClan cat had its advantages. He spotted a pelt through the growth, and it flicked out of view just quick enough for him not to make out any features. Being the only conscious member of his party, Brackenfur decided to slowly back away and return to his base for fear of being lured away from his responsibilities. The senior warrior picked his way through the denser parts of the clearing's edge for insurance's sake. Brackenfur noted the storm clouds gathering once again on the horizon, as it became apparent that the refugees had merely experienced a pause in the rain. Like the sky above him, Brackenfur's heart dampened. It seemed as if the survivors simply couldn't catch a break from anything.

Brackenfur was alerted to a presence behind him after he'd been sitting silently for hours. It reminded him of his coronation watch. Brackenfur slowly turned to find a much more rejuvenated Ravenpaw standing over his shoulder. Brackenfur spoke first, as he bluntly asked "Has he woken up yet?" Ravenpaw nodded. "He'll be okay. I just need to take care of him for a while." Brackenfur looked away. "Look Ravenpaw, we don't have 'a while'. We need to be mobile as soon as possible, even if we need to carry him." Ravenpaw sighed distantly and walked away. He paused. "Just one question: why do we have to move?" Brackenfur gestured upward. "We're right in a flood path. Miracle we haven't already been bogged out." Ravenpaw continued out of sight, and rustled around under the bush. Firestar, looking dazed and disoriented, stumbled out with some support on his uninjured shoulder. Thunder cracked in the distance and rattled the ground beneath the group's feet, prompting a worried look between Ravenpaw and Brackenfur. "Time's up, we've got to move _now_," emphasized Brackenfur. Firestar took himself on his own weight by power only StarClan could give him. Recognition lit up his face as he looked over Ravenpaw for the first time. "Ravenpa-" "Not the time," Brackenfur interrupted. "Come on, we need to get out of the way of this flood," he shouted. The wind picked up until it began to scream and howl. Droplets began to splash lightly onto the slick surface of the saturated earth. The trio began to trudge hurriedly from the location of the water's path. The rain picked up and gave way to a downpour.

A rumble was audible off in the distance, notably distinct from thunder. It got louder and louder. Barely heard through the weather, Brackenfur screeched "Here it comes! Brace yourselves!" A black torrent came barreling through the side of the hill and luckily away from the three cats. It violently tore through everything in its path and consumed it, seeming like a savage beast. A collective sigh of relief was lost to the weather as Firestar got picked up and thrown down by the wind. He scrambled back up, but his ankles both buckled under his body weight and he crumbled to the ground. Ravenpaw slid under the leader and lifted him onto the loner's back. The panicked and frenzied Brackenfur caught another flash of the pelt he saw earlier. A fox burst from through the brush and snarled at the two cats. Normally, Brackenfur would coolly pick apart the defense of the canine, but the scale of his situation hit him: Firestar, _the _warrior of them all, was being hoisted by a rouge in a torrential rain. Brackenfur simply fell apart inside, everything came unhinged in his mind. The fox began to stalk toward the two, Brackenfur not noticing. He was finally breaking instead of bending. The fox bore down on the warrior, baring its teeth. The fox lunged for Brackenfur's neck, going for a kill shot. Ravenpaw leapt in front just in time and unleashed a flurry of attacks on the canine's muzzle, letting Firestar slip off. The fox landed a lucky blow on the loner and again started toward Brackenfur, still losing all drive or motivation. Again the fox attempted a bite for his neck, and again he was saved, this time by Firestar. The physically destroyed leader still had heart, lashing out over and over at the fox. Ravenpaw regained his balance and leapt onto the back of his foe, dragging it down. The fox shook Ravenpaw off and ran off into the woods.

The wind stung the eyes of the three heroes as they watched their assailant retreating. The wind gusted and left a creaking sound. "Tree!" A tree came tumbling down, torn by the howling breezes, right on top of the three cats. They all jumped out of the way, but fate wasn't done with them yet. The tree was a willow, and a wet one at that, so the tree was pliable. It got wedged and redirected the current of the flood at the cat trio. There was no escape from the wall of water that splashed toward them, and it slammed on top of the group hard. The cats were invariably slammed against debris and vegetation, the water without mercy. After much battering the floodwater subsided, washing up the cats in a moor. They laid in silence for some time, as the vicious storm clear for good this time.


	6. A Note To Readers (Yes, You Todd)

** Hey all! 'Tis me.**

I came back on to to find some way to either delete the account or just nuke all of the work I had done, but was very surprised to see Survival _still_ getting views. I really appreciate just how much the story took off, even on a small scale, and have to thank you for that.

As you may or entirely may not see, I'm trying to figure out how to get FF to realize that I actually do proper formatting on my documents. It has a tendency to get wiped out when I convert it to a story document.

Now despite what it may sound like, I'm not writing this as a "thanks and goobye" missive. Oh no. If I can get the motivation, Survival very well could continue, alongside The Search. I have a feeling I can never truly kill off Survival. It's an idea that has stuck with me for nearly eight years, after all.

The return does mean some changes, however. First, the ending of the previous chapter has eaten away at me since the day I wrote it, and will most certainly be changed. The title of chapter three is going to be changed regardless of the story's status.

Additionally, it should be noted that over two years have passed since the publishing of chapter one, and three months short of two years since I last wrote for Survival. I'm a different writer. Frankly, in the state I am in now, I doubt I can even come close to the wordsmithing quality of my former work.

If you've read to this point, I thank you for your time. Now, I must make a request. I have never in my life asked people to "like/favorite/subscribe" or give me feedback just for the sake of feedback. I still won't. You have your own opinions and I fully respect that. However if you truly feel strongly about my prospective continuation of Survival, go ahead and tell me. If you want me to leave it be, by all means say that. I never imagined it would draw a fraction of the interest it did, and once again even if it does not return I must say thank you once more.

**-Fireheart1207**


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